And even if an agreement is reached, the prospect of the Raiders tracking their cleats on another baseball diamond faces a plethora of logistical, security and bureaucratic hurdles. High among them is the traffic anarchy that would occur when football season clashes with basketball season as the Golden State Warriors move into the brand-new Chase Center a few blocks away.

Rumors of the Raiders’ next move to San Francisco began with a tweet from NBC Bay Area anchor and sports reporting veteran Raj Mathai that the Raiders had struck a deal to play their last year in the Bay Area at the 41,000-seat Oracle Park, formerly AT&T Park.

That set off a flurry of dodges and denials.

Through a spokesman, the Giants said no deal has been cut with the Raiders. The 49ers declined to comment. Their stadium in Santa Clara is where the NFL has consistently said it would prefer the Raiders play in 2019, if not at the Oakland Coliseum.

The Raiders also declined comment to this news organization. A Sunday text to ESPN by Raiders owner Mark Davis said simply, “When we’re ready to make an announcement, we will.”

The offices of San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and Oakland council President Rebecca Kaplan either declined comment or didn’t respond to requests to comment in time for this story.

San Francisco Supervisor Mark Haney, whose district includes Oracle Park, said no deal has been reached between the Giants and Raiders but acknowledged that serious talks are happening. He also said “there’s a lot to figure out,” including negotiations with the city and county of San Francisco on top of those involving the Raiders, Giants, and NFL.

To be hashed out would be the traffic, public transportation, security implications and all the associated costs that come with a football crowd — and its tailgating — descending on the stadium for what would be seven home games (the eighth is a game scheduled to be played in London).

The Port of San Francisco also has a say, since the ballpark sits on port property.

Haney, who said he has not yet been involved in any such negotiations, noted that if the Raiders do play at Oracle Park, he has at least been assured they would only play seven games and only on Sunday afternoons. That rules out any home Monday or Thursday night games promoted by the NFL. It is unknown where the Raiders would play their two preseason exhibition home games.

Haney also echoed his previous criticism of the Raiders potentially coming to his city given the contentious dealings between the team and Oakland.

“I’ve been vocally opposed to this. It’s about how we treat our neighbors in the East Bay. It’s my understanding that the folks at the Coliseum and in Oakland want one more season, as planned. The only change is a lawsuit that shouldn’t have led to retaliation from the Raiders,” Haney said. “I don’t know why we’d [San Francisco] jump on that, given the way the Raiders have treated host cities.”

If they play at Oracle Park next season, the Raiders would have to work around the Giants’ schedule, meaning that the bulk of the Raiders’ first month would likely need to be played on the road. The Giants are at home for Weeks 2 and 4 of the NFL season. The Giants are home Sept. 9, one day after the NFL’s opening day. That’s probably not enough time to convert the field from football to baseball.

It wouldn’t be the first time football is played at what is now called Oracle Park. UC Berkeley’s football team played there in 2011.

Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford had a reaction to the prospect of football returning to his home field. Replying on social media to a tweet from baseball reporter Andrew Baggarly about the bad hops that can occur after an infield has been pounded by a football game, Crawford offered two sad-faced emoji.

Robert Salonga is a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter covering criminal justice and public safety for The Mercury News. A San Jose native, he attended UCLA and has a Master's degree in journalism from the University of Maryland. He previously reported in Washington, D.C., Salinas and the East Bay, and is a middling triathlete. Reach him the low-tech way at 408-920-5002.